Prehung mounting means

ABSTRACT

A prehung door and casing assembly, including an improved spacer assembly for temporarily mounting a door within a door jamb frame so that the door frame is spaced a predetermined distance from the door jamb member and so that the door frame and door jamb members may be easily installed in a door opening as a unit. The spacer assembly includes a spacer member having a rectangular base portion and parallel extending portions which serve as spacer elements and define a guide track for a severing tool which is employed to cut a rivet passing through the frame, the door jamb, and the spacer member.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Raymond H. Baumgartel Akron, Ohio [21] Appl. No. 9,544 [22] Filed Feb. 9, 1970 [45] Patented June 15, 1971 [73] Assignee Harvard Industries, Inc.

[54] PREHUNG DOOR MOUNTING MEANS 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 49/380, 206/60 [51] Int. Cl E06b 3/32 [50] Field of Search 0. 49/380; 206/60 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,9 l 7,790 12/1959 Espenschied 49/380 X 3,216,066 11/1965 HHdflCek 3,298,510 1/1967 Brand ABSTRACT: A prehung door and casing assembly, including an improved spacer assembly for temporarily mounting a door within a door jamb frame so that the door frame is spaced a predetermined distance from the door jamb member and so that the door frame and door jamb members may be easily installed in a door opening as a unit. The spacer assembly includes a spacer member having a rectangular base portion and parallel extending portions which serve as spacer elements and define a guide track for a severing tool which is employed to cut a rivet passing through the frame, the door jamb, and the spacer member.

PATENTEUJUHISIQYI 3584, 116

INVENTOR RA YMO/VD H. BAUMGARTEL ATT NEYS PREHUNG DOOR MOUNTING MEANS I 7 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to prehung doors and, more particularly, to means for temporarily mounting a door within a door jamb frame so that the door is spaced a predetermined distance from the door jamb. The temporary mounting means or spacers must be securely positioned so as to not move during shipment and installation. The spaced relationship is provided to facilitate the installation of the entire prehung door assembly as a single unit.

The installation of a door was formerly a slow and detailed procedure which often required the talents of a skilled craftsman. The difficulties encountered included obtaining proper clearances between the door and door jamb. However, the commercial introduction of prehung doors eliminated many of these problems and facilitated installation techniques. For example, aluminum storm doors are assembled within and hinged to their door jambs or Z-bars by the manufacturer so that the entire unit may be easily installed in a frame opening in a building structure. The door frame is fastened to a Z-bar or door jamb and suitable spacers or shims are inserted between the Z-bars and door frame to ensure the proper clearance between these members when they are installed. Since the entire prehung door assembly is shipped as a single unit, it is necessary that the door frame be securely fastened to its Z-bar or door jamb member so that no movement or shifting is encountered during shipping. Once the prehung door assembly has been installed, the fastening devices which connect the door frame and the Z-bars must be removed so that the door may be opened and closed. Consequently, it is necessary to provide means which securely fasten the door frame to the Z-bar during shipment and installation, but which can easily "be removed once the door has been installed.

According to some prior art practices, screws or rivets are provided to join the Z-bar to the door frame in such a way that the screw or rivet may be severed after the Z-bar is installed on the wood door frame. Reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,066. As is shown therein, a spacer is employed which is notched to surround a screw and which is adapted to sever the screw when tapped with a hammer. Although this arrangement has had considerable commercial success, it has certain drawbacks. The particular spacer arrangements suggested present problems in stacking and shipping the product, as it must project from the frame, and these projections may snag on and mar other door frames during shipping. In addition, in order to give proper spacing support, the spacer must extend across the thickness of the door frame, and, therefore, almost to the stop flange of the Z-bar. Its cutting stroke (which is the remaining distance to the stop flange) is therefore extremely short. This short stroke can make it difficult to sever the screw without damaging the stop flange. It may also be noted that since the spacer must shear the screw, hardened steel or other relatively costly material must be employed for each spacer element. A further disadvantage of the short cutting stroke is that the fastening screw must be made from a relatively soft and easily severable material. If, during assembly, the screw is tightened too much, the screw will break, necessitating complete disassembly of any previously installed spacers to remove the broken screw. If, on the other hand, the screw is not sufficiently tightened, the spacer may not be properly clamped between the Z-bar and the door frame.

Many of the above problems were overcome by the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,510. However, two additional problems arose with the spacer arrangement taught by that patent. In particular, the spacer frequently was not locked in place by the fastener, and was subject to movement during shipment unless it was secured in position by some other means. In addition, since the spacer was not in a fixed position relative to the fastening screw or rivet, it was difi'icult to locate the latter in order to shear it after installation had been completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides an inexpensive spacer element that extends across the entire thickness of the door frame to separate the door frame from its Z-bar. The spacer element is a single unit comprised of two longitudinally extending, projecting portions and a recessed connecting base portion. The projecting portions coact with the door frame or Z-bar member to define a channel which exposes the connecting fastening rivet or screw.

The spacer arrangement provided by the present invention eliminates the problems indicated above. In particular, the spacer element does not project from the prehung door assembly so as to provide a projection which would snag or mar other door assemblies during the stacking or shipping operations.

It may also be noted that since the spacer element does not cut the fastening screw or rivet itself, the spacer may be formed of an inexpensive plastic material. The cutting is done by a single, separate severing tool which is conveniently shaped to slide into the longitudinal channel defined by the spacer element, the door frame, or the Z-bar member. Therefore, the severing tool will have a longer cutting stroke, and no damage will result during shipment to the abutting face of the door frame.

In addition, it may be noted that the spacer element is firmly positioned by the fastener which passes through a bore in the recessed base portion of the spacer element. Therefore, the spacer element is locked in place and serves to locate the screw or fastening rivet so it may be sheared after the door is installed. In addition, the spacer element of the present invention not only serves to locate the screw or rivet, but also serves as a guide for the cutting tool to facilitate shearing of the fastening element.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more fully understood from the following detailed description of the invention, and from the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an elevational view of a prehung door and its Z- bars;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a portion of the Z-bar and door frame illustrated in FIG. 1, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of spacer element; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a door frame and Z-bar, a spacer element, a severing tool, and a fastening rivet, with parts broken away for clarity so as to show the operation of the severing tool. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring now to the drawings in detail, a prehung door 10 is illustrated in FIG. I. The prehung door 10 includes side frame members 12 and 14 and a top frame member 16. The frame members 12, 14, and 16 may be aluminum extrusions and may have identical cross sections.

As shown in FIG. I, the side Z-bars l8 and 20 and head Z- bar 22 comprising a Z-bar unit are respectively associated with door frame members I2, 14, and 16. The frame member 12 is hinged to the side Z-bar member 18. The Z-bar members 18, 20, and 22 are fixed to the frame members l2, l4, and 16 by rivets 24. Each of the rivets 24 is associated with a spacer member 26 which is located between the door frame members l2, l4, and 16 and the Z-bar members 18, 20, and 22. Initially, the spacer members 26 are conveniently placed between the side frame members and the Z-bar members so as to provide the proper space relationship between the frame members and the Z-bar members. A suitable bore extending through the associated Z-bar member, the spacer bar member, and the frame member may then be provided so as to accommodate the rivets 24. In this manner, a proper spaced relationship between the frame members I2, 14, and 16 and the Z-bar members 18, 20, and 22 is assured.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the frame member 14 comprises faces 28 and 30 and a connecting web 32. The faces 28 and 30 extend outwardly beyond the connecting web 32 to provide flanges 34 and 36. It should be noted that each door frame member 12, 14, and 16 may be similarly constructed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the Z-bar 20 comprises a first face flange or leg 38 which is screwed to the outer face of the wood door frame by a screw 40. The Z-bar 20 also includes a second leg 42 which extends substantially perpendicular to the leg 38 and lies against an inside surface of the door jamb or lintel. A stop flange 44 is provided at one end of the leg 42 and the stop flange 44 retains a weather seal strip 46. Each Z-bar member 18, 20, and 22 may be similarly constructed.

Before the door frame member 16 is riveted to the Z-bar member, a spacer 26 is inserted between these two parts. As best shown in FIG. 3, the spacer 26 includes a rectangular base portion 48 providing two planar surfaces 50 and 52. Projecting from one of the planar surfaces are two spaced and p positely disposed spacer-guides, which are parallel and the outside edges of which are coplanar with the corresponding edges of the base portion 48. The spacer-guides S4 and 56 provide longitudinally extending portions 58 and 58a and 60 and 60a. As best shown in FIG. 2, the base portion 48 of the spacer 26 has a width substantially equal to the distance between the flanges 34 and 36 of the door frame 16. The rearward projection 60a of the spacer-guide 56 has a longitudinal length substantially equal to the width of the flange 36 of the door frame 16. The forward projection 60 of the spacer-guide 56 has a greater length than the corresponding flange 34 of the door frame surface 30. This arrangement facilitates the location of the spacer-guides and the shearing of the rivet 24. As previously indicated, the spacer-guide 26 is initially placed between the door frame 16 and the Z-bar 20, and a suitable bore extending through the Z-bar leg 42, the spacer base portion 48, and the connecting web 32 of the door frame 16 is provided. The pop rivet 24 may then be installed to securely position the door frame 16, the spacer member 26, and the Z- bar member 20.

After the prehung door assembly has been installed on the wood door frame opening, the fasteners may be severed. As illustrated in FIG. 4, a severing tool 62 may be used to sever the connecting rivets 24. The working edge of the severing tool 62 may be sharpened or it may have a V-notch. As illustrated, the severing tool 62 is inserted into the channel defined by the spacerguides 54 and 56. The severing tool 62 may be tapped with a hammer 50 as to shear the fastening rivet 24. As shown in FIG. 4, the severing tool 62 has a relatively long longitudinal working stroke so that the fastening rivet 24 may be sheared without damage to any of the surrounding frame members. Once fastening rivet 24 has been sheared, the severing tool 62 may be removed from the spacer-guides and inserted into the next set of spacer-guides, wherein a similar fastening rivet will also be severed. When each of the fastening rivets has been sheared in this manner, the door may be opened and the spacer members removed.

The invention is not restricted to the slavish imitation of each and every one of the details described above, which have been set forth merely by way of example with the intent of most clearly setting forth the teaching of the invention. Obviously, devices may be provided which change, eliminate, or add certain specific details without departing from the invention. What I claim is:

1. ln a prehung door assembly having side and top frame members and side and top Z-bar members fixed to and spaced from said frame members, the improvement comprising severable fastening means extending in tension between a frame member and a Z-bar member and holding them together, removable spacer means located between said frame and Z-bar member and having a bore therethrough, said fastening means extending through said bore to clamp said spacer between a Z-bar and said frame member, said removable spacer extending from a front face of a frame member substantiall across the width of the frame member and defining a longitu inal channel which extends from said front face and past said bore to expose a portion of said fastening means, whereby said fastening means may be severed after the door is mounted by a relatively long longitudinal stroke of a severing tool inserted into said longitudinal channel.

2. A prehung door assembly according to claim 1 wherein said spacer member has a rectangular base portion, said base portion having substantially planar faces, one of said planar faces having spacer-guide means to space a Z-bar from a door frame and to define said longitudinal channel which guides said tool along said one of said planar faces.

3. A spacer member according to claim 2 wherein said spacer-guide means includes a pair of spaced parallel rectangular portions which project from the surface of said one of said planar faces.

4. A spacer member according to claim 3 wherein said rectangular portions project longitudinally from each end of said base.

5. A spacer member according to claim 4 wherein the extent of projection at one end of said base is greater than the extent of projection at the other end of said base.

6. A spacer member according to claim 3 wherein said bore extends through said base portion between said rectangular portions. 

1. In a prehung door assembly having side and top frame members and side and top Z-bar members fixed to and spaced from said frame members, the improvement comprising severable fastening means extending in tension between a frame member and a Z-bar member and holding them together, removable spacer means located between said frame and Z-bar member and having a bore therethrough, said fastening means extending through said bore to clamp said spacer between a Z-bar and said frame member, said removable spacer extending from a front face of a frame member substantially across the width of the frame member and defining a longitudinal channel which extends from said front face and past said bore to expose a portion of said fastening means, whereby said fastening means may be severed after the door is mounted by a relatively long longitudinal stroke of a severing tool inserted into said longitudinal channel.
 2. A prehung door assembly according to claim 1 wherein said spacer member has a rectangular base portion, said base portion having substantially planar faces, one of said planar faces having spacer-guide means to space a Z-bar from a door frame and to define said longitudinal channel which guides said tool along said one of said planar faces.
 3. A spacer member according to claim 2 wherein said spacer-guide means includes a pair of spaced parallel rectangular portions which project from the surface of said one of said planar faces.
 4. A spacer member according to claim 3 wherein said rectangular portions project longitudinally from each end of said base.
 5. A spacer member according to claim 4 wherein the extent of projection at one end of said base is greater than the extent of projection at the other end of said base.
 6. A spacer member according to claim 3 wherein said bore extends through said base portion between said rectangular portions. 